What does Tyla’s viral Met Gala 2025 impossible-to-walk-in gown and a crisp glass of Johnnie Walker whisky straight from its recent Couture Expression collection have in common? The mastermind behind the two, Olivier Rousteing.
For some, drinking whiskey is a family tradition passed down in the form of an untouched hundred-year old bottle that is only to be opened for a grand occasion. For others, it’s an on-the-rocks way to unwind after a long, laborious day. For Olivier Rousteing, the Creative Director of Balmain, it’s an entire new realm to explore his limitless creativity.
Teaming up with Scotch whiskey behemoth Johnnie Walker, the French couturier has become the first cultural collaborator to waltz into the Johnnie Walker Vault, an exclusive and luxurious affair which sees invitees work with master blender Dr. Emma Walker to put their spin on the spirituous classic. For Rousteing, it was a cause for couture, and a sensorial journey through the seasons that pulled on his creative reins.
The result of this “Couture Expression” collaboration manifests itself in four bottles – one for each season. Take Spring, for example, which highlights all that is floral, and embraces renewal by blending a 1985 Cragganmore, a limited 1977 Caledonian and minerality from a 1978 Port Ellen. These aren’t just any old bottles though – it is Rousteing we’re talking about after all. Similarly to last year’s Met Gala’s theme, ephemerality was at the forefront of the design, where a sculpted, metallic casing is draped over the fragile crystal-cut bottle.
Most of you will remember Rousteing’s temporal gown last year worn by Tyla – one that no longer exists in the form we got to know and love it as the South African musician was lifted up those Met steps. When it was time for the off-camera, sit-down dinner portion of fashion’s biggest night out, Rousteing had no hesitation in grabbing a pair of scissors and giving the resin-based piece the chop, perfectly representing just how fleeting fashion is.
As the first Monday in May has just rolled around, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Rousteing celebrating the end of the Met Gala off somewhere sunny, with an ice-cold whiskey in hand. For this year’s fundraising event, Balmain’s Creative Director dressed five attendees – Rosalía, in a form-fitting, sculptural white gown; Jenna Ortega, in a metallic dress formed from silver measuring tapes; Patrick Schwarzenegger, in a pinstripe suit; Priyanka Chopra, in a 50s glamorous polka-dotted ensemble; Jeremy O. Harris, in homage to the legendary Black jockey James Winkfield – a feat assuring a well-deserved moment of rest and relaxation, and a round of applause for the room after the fact (and a glass of Johnnie Walker Vault x Olivier Rousteing whiskey certainly is a trusty companion to have).
Ahead of this year’s fashion Super Bowl, we caught up with Olivier Rousteing to break down his Johnnie Walker Vault collab, and chat all things past and present Met Galas.
How did this collaboration come about? What initially excited you about designing a Johnnie Walker bottle?
I think this collaboration was about translating the couture and craft that I’m best known for into the world of Johnnie Walker with The Vault, which was all about expressing craft and perfectionism, and breaking traditional boundaries of the whisky world.
How does it feel to be the first cultural collaborator invited into The Vault?
Really special and it’s an honour. We should not forget that Johnnie Walker existed in the 19th century and was started in 1820 by Mr John Walker, so it’s about heritage and a strong story from the past, really being anchored in the present, but always looking forwards to the future. The Vault is more than whiskies, it’s creating stories. When I had the chance to go to Edinburgh and discover The Vault for the first time, you realise that these incredible whiskies that originated in the past, they are utterly timeless. As a Creative Director in fashion, what I always strive for is for my work to be timeless, to create a collection that will stay forever, and whisky has this intrinsic quality, which was very exciting.
You were particularly inspired by the seasons for this. How do you think that translated into the end product?
When I decided to create a couture collection with The Vault, I was like, in fashion we have different seasons, so I had the idea of creating different dresses for each season, which I guess I was seeing as a kind of casing around the bottle. No-one’s ever done a couture whisky collection before inspired by seasons. When you drink or smell whisky, it’s about emotions, and four seasons is about four different emotions. Winter, you get a bit more cooking, summer is about energy, spring is about optimism, because you start to feel the [warmth], and in fall you start to dress to feel cosy, so it’s kind of different emotions through the seasons.
Also, just like Johnnie Walker, I’m known for inclusivity, so it was very important that the differing tastes would be inclusive, as well as the look of the four bottles and how they differ in colour, and the overall experience. The beauty of The Vault is how unique it is, and four was a really great number. Of course, I would have loved to do eight or twelve!
How is working with Dr. Emma Walker?
Working with her was an incredible journey of discovery and learning. I remember the first time that she met me she was quite shy, because she was like “Oh my gosh, I’m meeting someone from fashion,” and I was really shy because I was meeting a doctor who has such incredible expertise, but we soon gained confidence as we discovered each of our worlds.
What I loved most was when she shared the mathematics behind the art of blending and also discovering Scotland and its depth of the culture and how anchored it is in the Johnnie Walker world. In sharing our initial fears, we became great friends as we started to discover a mutual language. I knew how to speak with my pattern cutters and designers, but I have to admit, I didn’t know how to converse with a whisky master!
What does Couture Expression mean to you, and how did you translate it into the bottle’s design?
I understood from the archive that in the early days of the brand, Alexander Walker, son of Johnnie Walker, used a cubic form bottle. He [has been] shipping the whisky around the world to sell since the late 1800s. Now we are in 2025 we forget the complexity of having to transport whisky as well as creating an awareness of the brand back then. For me it was an exquisite story. So that cube became a starting point and working with incredible artisans, Baccarat, that cube was first made of crystal.
Then I started to drape fabric around it as though the cube was a mannequin, which led to the idea of the fabric silhouette being recreated in metal to hold the moment. Metal is forever just like whisky can last forever, so I wanted the bottle to be timeless too. After that we worked on the stopper, which represents wings, because for me Johnnie Walker is about freedom, pushing boundaries, sky’s the limit, and let’s keep walking until we fly. The wings are really important. I want the bottle to feel really couture, so if you were to visit The Vault in Edinburgh in a hundred years’ time, people will say ‘this incredible bottle was created in 2025.’
Where is the most fashionable spot to drink whisky in?
It has to be home. For me, drinking whisky is about emotion, sharing with your friends or family, and there is nothing better than being at home, feeling cosy, and savouring every emotion, without having huge crowds around you. The blends we’ve created are very special and unique, they’re not loud, they’re really subtle, so I’d advise people to invite their friends over to experience these incredible four blends.
We’re just around from fashion’s biggest night, the Met Gala. Looking back on last year’s, for which you dressed Tyla in the sand dress, did you ever expect this?
I don’t think you ever expect something to go viral when you create. Being viral for me is being authentic, being honest, and you cannot make something go viral if it’s planned.
With Tyla, I knew the dress I was going to create in my mind from the beginning, inspired by The Garden of Time theme. I was obsessed with the idea of an hourglass with sand running through it indicative of timelessness – rather than flowers which everyone else was obviously thinking about. So, we created that mould of her body and covered it with sand. We didn’t use fabric, we basically used resin, then the sand. Why it became viral I think was because the Sunday when we did the fitting, the day before the gala, we realised that she couldn’t walk, and I told her I should cut the dress, and she was like “don’t because I love looking like a statue.” I was like, yeah, but you can’t walk the steps, and she said, “no, I’ll take baby steps.” So basically, when she arrived in front of the red carpet, the ushers supported and helped her up the stairs, grabbing her waist, which was already a viral moment.
I never saw that because I was running ten minutes late, and when I got to the top of the stairs, Anna [Wintour] was like, “do you know that your dress is viral? it’s everywhere.” I asked her why as I hadn’t seen Tyla’s arrival and entrance. So, the next viral moment was at the cocktail [reception] when she told me she couldn’t sit down, and I reminded her what she told me in the fitting, and she was like “but now what shall we do?” I took some scissors and started cutting the dress, and I think it was that. It was totally spontaneous, nothing was planned.
Is virality something that was in your mind for this year’s Met Gala?
You never replicate anything, the beauty of creating is that everything is unique, and when you try to replicate it’s a sure way to failure. Of course, you expect and hope that people will understand the specificity of your creation, but the first thing that I thought when I had the theme of the Met Gala, which is so different from last year, was let’s do something very special and unique again. I’m not expecting to have that kind of virality as you mention because I feel these are often a once in a lifetime moment, but I hope people will discover another kind of craft that we were able to achieve.
How have the fittings processes been?
I mean, right now I’m talking to you, I have done one, which went really, really well, but today actually, I’m going to have two which are really crucial because the dresses are very complex, but they’re going to love it and hopefully there’s always a solution if anything goes wrong!
Head to Johnnie Walker’s website to pre-order the Johnnie Walker Vault x Olivier Rousteing Couture Expression collection, officially launching worldwide on May 26th.
